Lingering fingers One-Shot
by Luluannabell
Summary: Jugo thinks Suigetsu and Karin should be more honest with their feelings. T for language only, to be safe / I heard you thought you weren't going to see a SuiKarin fic today? HAH! also Juugo/Jugo who cares right


Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto_. If I did SuiKarin would have had a lot more development in the series.

* * *

They were at it again.

Jugo stared up into the trees, acting like he didn't notice the two of them sneaking glances at each other when they thought he wasn't looking.

He wasn't looking, but that didn't mean he didn't see it.

Suigetsu's and Karin's relationship had changed quite a bit since – since Team Hebi, actually. No, since before even. They had changed so much. While they used to scream at each other at any chance they got, for example when they touched each other's hands while working at the fireplace – actually that was a good way to simplify the changes between them.

First, they screamed at each other when it happened.

After the war, they didn't seem to particularily care about the occasional touch.

At some point, they quickly pulled away and looked in different directions.

Then they lingered.

And now, it seemed, they were nearly grasping the other's hand.

They looked into each other's eyes.

There was no point in denying what they felt. Jugo thought it to be quite obvious, from the lingering touch to the looks they gave each other. Apparently, they didn't. But it wasn't his business to meddle in.

"Oi."

"Hm?"

Ah. Suigetsu had initiated a conversation. Jugo still acted as if he was watching something in the trees. It seemed to him they were not planning on making him join their little chat, so he wasn't going to force himself in.

"Are you... ever gonna change out of that filth?"

"What on earth do you mean?"

Karin's voice had a slight edge to it, probably insulted by what Suigetsu was insinuating.

"Like, it's summer and you're still wearing long clothes."

"You know the bites don't disappear, right?"

"So what? It's probably still very warm underneath all that. And, you know, uh... If someone dares to look at you funny, they won't live to tomorrow."

"As if I cared about that! And I can take perfect care of myself!"

Jugo thought that her voice sounded way softer than she had probably intended it to sound. There was relief in her voice, somewhere. She was probably blushing, looking away pouting, trying to look angry. Suigetsu was probably looking away as well. A glance confirmed this. Jugo looked up to a bird that was now jumping through the branches. Suigetsu started up again.

"I mean, like, I don't mind your bites. They're a part of you, right? And it's not like they're a bad thing or anything, just..."

The swordsman's voice trailed off. Jugo turned his head back so he could watch the spectacle better. At this point, those two had already forgotten about his presence. He slid down the trunk of a tree into a sitting position, making himself more comfortable.

"I don't know what I wanted to say."

He had probably wanted to say something sappy. Jugo was quite glad to know he wouldn't listen in on that just yet. Downcast, Suigetsu looked to the floor now. The silence was weighing on his shoulders, surely thinking he had overdone it. Jugo was sure he hadn't, wanted to check her face for a sign, when something caught his attention. A small bird. It chirped into Jugo's ear, distracting him just enough to not catch the expression on Karin's face.

"This shirt is quite tattered, now that I think about it."

Ah, he had been right after all. The two smiled at each other. That smile. The smile reserved for only the one person opposite to them, a gentle smile, one you wouldn't see from them if they weren't completely relaxed like now. Jugo smiled his own smile and closed his eyes to drift off a little. He knew Karin was shying a glance his way to check if he was paying attention to what happened, while Suigetsu was just staring at Karin. They had done similar things in the past.

Surprisingly, he heard Karin stand up. Jugo couldn't help opening his eyes to see what was happening. She was moving over to Suigetsu, still that smile on her lips. They sat a respectable distance from each other still, but a flush ran over both of their faces as they sat. Karin had made the first move now. Would Suigetsu pick up on it?

It was actually quite exciting to observe.

The swordsman did pick up on it. His expression was a little unsure, but he inched toward where Karin sat, almost unnoticeable. Tucking her hair behind her ear meant she noticed, he inched toward her again, closing that respectable distance a little more. Jugo smiled at this blatant display of affection between the two. The problem with their relationship was that they kept on denying they had feelings for each other. Those two kept on denying that these kind of things happened regularily between them. It was warming to watch them in these moments, finally acting the way they felt instead of insulting each other to force distance between them. Suigetsu's hand reached to cover Karin's. Both of them looked away, acting like it wasn't happening. Lovestruck teenagers, that was what they were acting like. But, they weren't teenagers. They were adults. Denying their blossoming relationship was silly.

Maybe it was his business. After all, this silliness was impacting their abilities as a team. Them being so distracted could not be good. Yes, that was a good excuse.

"When are you two going to finally admit you're in love?"

Both jumped up and pulled away from each other when Jugo spoke, careful to not show too much happiness at their reactions. Karin stuttered while trying to find the words to negate his comment, Suigetsu stared at him with a red face, obviously having forgotten about his existence completely.

"That's not it!"

Karin finally managed to force out a sentence.

"We were just-"

"You know, I think I need to go to town. Give you some privacy."

"Jugo-"

He caught Suigetsu's call with a wave of his hand as he stood up. The two of them were standing closer together than he thought they would. Their relationship changed again. Now, surely, they actually would grasp the other's hand if they touched while working at the fireplace. Thinking about it, it was quite weird Suigetsu had ever volunteered to work with Karin. Suigetsu must have known of his feelings a lot earlier than Karin had.

"You two need to talk to each other about this like grown-ups. You're at a point where you get very annoying when the other isn't around."

He didn't listen to to whatever the two of them tried to say and left for the town with a backhanded wave. There really wasn't much to do in town, he bought himself a snack and wandered around aimlessly. Much like he expected, upon returning he noticed their relationship had changed significantly once more during his absence. Karin was apparently asleep on Suigetsu's lap, who was absentmindedly stroking her hair while looking into the air. Jugo saw one of his hands linked with Karin's.

"Yo."

The swordsman glanced upwards. Jugo sat down next to him, looking at Karin's head. Gracing him with a silent minute in which Suigetsu only kept on stroking gently through the red hair, Jugo thought a little. This looked very much like something a couple would do.

"Did you talk?"

Suigetsu took his time before answering, as if he was wondering how exactly he could phrase his next words.

"Kinda."

"Good."

Jugo ignored the silent blush on the other's face and stared into the void with him. More than a talk, it seemed. Or maybe less than a talk. He'd leave them in their bliss and ask another time, if he thought he needed to know.

"Jugo?"

"Yeah?"

Suigetsu didn't say anything after that. After all these years, Jugo knew exactly what he wanted to say, and knew that he was too "Suigetsu" to actually say it at this point. Thanking people never did seem to be his forte.

* * *

Karin stared at the spot where Jugo had stood seconds ago. She could feel Suigetsu's eyes on her.

"Are we talking about this now?"

She slumped to the ground. Suigetsu quickly followed suit and looked into her face like he was trying to decipher some unreadable book.

"There's nothing to talk about. There is no 'this'. Stop imagining things."

Karin shook her head as he sighed and fell onto his back. She needed a lot more time before she could admit her feelings towards him.

"We're being childish."

"You mean you're being childish."

"You- ugh, whatever."

Silence shrouded them, but not of the comfortable sort. It felt like there was more to be said, more to be done. It felt like they had to settle this properly, like they had to deal with this like 'adults' would. In all honesty, Karin did not want to admit to being in love with the water-boy who used to have the worst chakra signature she had ever felt – which was just not the case anymore. It was shining quite brightly.

"Hey, bitch."

The glance toward his face destroyed all of her plans. He was smiling at her, that smile, or smirk, or whatever it was, the one he showed only her. His insult sounded soft to her ears, as if it were a pet name. It certainly suited her more than "honey" or "darling", she thought.

"You know damn well what you mean to me."

There, she broke. Gone was her mask. This was probably the brightest smile she could manage.

"And you know damn well what you mean to me, dumb Kappa."

Her answer made him smile his brightest as well. Well, this wasn't your conventional love confession at all, but it sure felt romantic. Romantic enough for Karin to decide to settle her head in his lap. Suigetsu made himself more comfortable as she only stared up into the clouds.

"Oh yeah, just make yourself comfortable on me. Thanks a bunch."

"Shut it."

He shifted some more under her head, and soon Karin could look up into his eyes instead. And they were coming closer. Suigetsu was leaning over her, and quite clearly going for her lips. Very slowly. Nervously. With a heartbeat as frantic as Karin's in this situation, it was torture to wait for him. She couldn't take it anymore. Her hands grasped at his hair and pulled him down for the kiss. Oh, finally!

She could feel him sink into the kiss the same way she did, relaxing her grip on him as it went from impatient to gentle, and then to needy. Greedy. He cupped her face in his hands. She made sure he wouldn't move from there, until she needed to catch her breath. Sharp teeth. A blush shone on his cheeks, she didn't want to think about what her face looked like now. Her fingers drifted through his hair before she let her hands fall to her side. Gently she felt his fingers entwine with hers. His next words sounded worried.

"We must be pretty obvious if Jugo calls us out, right? Hope nobody else thought we were-"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Kappa."

"But we've had it long coming, didn't we?"

"There is no 'it'. Shut up before I punch you in the face."

"Right, right."

After that, they managed to drift into a casual chat, with only fingers rubbing over fingers to remind her what had actually happened. Karin, feeling quite at peace, closed her eyes, waking up the next day in the same position she had fallen asleep in. His fingers lingered in her hair.


End file.
